Rajasthan polls: National People's Party promises free power, water to farmers

Jaipur: The Rajasthan state unit of National People's Party today said, if voted to power in the December 1 Assembly elections, the party would provide water and power free of cost to farmers for agriculture purpose.

Blaming the Congress for its misrule and BJP for its failure to play the role of opposition, NPP leader K L Meena said, "If voted to power, we would impose a complete ban on liquor in the state and raise the expenditure on agriculture sector to 20 per cent of the state's budget."

Mr Meena, an Independent MP from Dausa constituency, who formed the NPP along with former Lok Sabha Speaker PA Sangma, today addressed a rally after releasing the party's manifesto for the Rajasthan Assembly polls.

The party also promised to set up a medical college in every district and a hospital on the lines of AIIMS in Jaipur.

Royalty from mines' exploration would be given to farmers and 15 per cent of the budget would be spent on education, Mr Meena said, with his wife and MLA Golma Devi by his side.

Slamming Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and state BJP chief Vasundhara Raje, Mr Meena said, "The parties are trying to malign the NPP. We have neither black money nor any money accumulated through corruption."

Congress and BJP are two sides of the same coin and are involved in rampant corruption, he alleged.

Mr Meena said he had spent 36 years with the BJP and he was shunted out when he had strongly objected to clashes between Gurjar and Meena communities during the Raje regime.

"Now I promise, if voted to power, NPP will provide 5 per cent quota to five communities including Gurjars, Rebari and Banjara," he said.

State NPP president Golma Devi appealed to the people to vote for the party so that it could spread education among girls. Mrs Devi, who quit the Gehlot government as MoS, said people would reject both the Congress and the BJP.